The European Society of Radiology (ESR) has postponed its annual European Congress of Radiology (ECR) meeting in light of global health concerns regarding the coronavirus epidemic.

The event, initially scheduled for March 11–15 in Vienna, Austria, will be moved to July 15-19. Registration fees for the event as well as for the online services will remain in place for the new congress date and the ESR is calling it a "fully equivalent replacement" for the event originally planned.

"After careful evaluation of the spreading coronavirus epidemic, and considering the recent statements issued by the WHO and the ECDC, and the related evolving world-wide restrictions and crisis, the ESR was forced to make this decision," the organization wrote in a statement. "Above all, we have analysed the recommendations from the Austrian health authorities for large-scale events and came to the conclusion that we are not in a position to fulfil their requirements and guarantee a safe congress for our participants and industry partners at this time. The safety, health and well-being of our delegates and partners will always be the highest priority for the ESR."

Another major healthcare industry conference, The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) annual meeting, remains on schedule for March 8 through March 13 at the Orange County Convention Center, West Concourse, and has recently added President Donald Trump to its list of speakers.

HIMSS issued a statement yesterday saying it, "has assembled an external panel of medical professionals to further advise our evidence-based decision-making and to ensure the safety of the healthcare community currently planning to assemble in Florida for HIMSS20."

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